The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 19, 2003, Page 8, Image 8
g THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, March 19, 2003
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I
_ Walking the line between
man ;
II
Local author develops a Faulkner-esque
portrait of a small South Carolina town
“ONE FOOT iti EDEN”
Ron Rash
out of
BY BRIAN RAY
THE GAMECOCK
Ron Rash has written a power
ful and haunting book that ex
plores everything fantastic and
heartbreaking about Appalachian
culture. His first novel, “One Foot
in Eden,” illuminates the leftovers
of a bygone era, doomed to drown
in the flood of modem civilization.
The story begins in Jocassee
circa 1950 and gallops through the
next 20 years. The reader is intro
duced to five narrators, who each
give us a different story concern
ing the murder of Holland
Winchester — a half-insane
Korean War veteran who’s crazy
enough to keep his combat vic
tims’ ears as trophies.
The first narrator, Sheriff Will
Alexander, investigates
Winchester’s disappearance after
a late-night bar fight. Alexander
fingers Winchester’s neighbor,
Billy Holcombe, as the killer. But a
thorough search of Holcombe’s
farm only turns up a putrid dead
horse. Still, all the facts point to
Holcombe — the only one with the
motivation, considering that
Winchester had been dressing up
in his military uniform to give
flowers and a little something else
to Billy’s wife, Amy.
But no one wants to rock a sink
ing boat. And everyone, including
Alexander, would rather focus on
a bigger problem. Power compa
ny Carolina Power is taking over
their town, waking the dead with
dynamite blasts as they prepare to
flood a valley that has been home
to Alexander and his neighbors for
generations.
The first part of the novel ends
in a stalemate. Alexander is un
able to turn up a shred of evidence
and becomes embroiled in his own
family drama. His father’s death
by heart attack, combined with
the intrusion of Carolina Power,
complicates the investigation.
The novel takes a turn for the
truly bizarre as the story abandons
Alexander mid-quest to joiji Amy.
The reader discovers the killer’s
identity and much more as Amy
narrates her struggle to deal with
her husband’s infertility. Amy
does whatever it takes to start a
family, flirting with witchcraft,
witches and her own destruction.
Billy is the third narrator.
♦ RASH, SEE PAGE 9
SHOW PREVIEW
Eagles to take it to the limit at
Columbia's Carolina Center
BY MEG MOORE
THE (1AMECOCK
They’ve given listeners that
peaceful, easy feeling and taken it
to the limit with their genre-bend
ing style. They started out as the
new kids in town with the release
of their debut album in 1972 and
wound up staying in it for the long
run.
On May 11, The Eagles, card
carrying members of the Rock ‘n’
Roll Hall of Fame, will play the
Carolina Center as the second stop
on their 2003 tour, celebrating 30
plus years of radio-staple rock.
Founded in 1971 by musicians
touring with Linda Ronstadt, The
Eagles began as the banding to
gether of Glenn Frye, Don Henley,
Randy Meisner and Bernie
Leadon. Don Felder joined the
group in 1974, and Joe Walsh re
placed Leadon in 1976. In 1979,
Timothy B. Schmit took the place
of Randy Meisner, finalizing the
band’s lineup.
Although their lineup was less
than solid during the ’70s, their
ability to produce radio hits was
indisputable: The Eagles scored
massive airplay with songs such
as Take it tasy, "uesperaao,
“Lyin’ Eyes” and “Already Gone”
during the decade. “Hotel
California,” released in 1976, also
made its debut, and “The Long
Run” hit airwaves in 1979. They
were defined by and, arguably,
helped to define, the ’70s, releas
ing six albums between ’71 and ’79.
The group separated in 1980, the
band members’ solo careers taking
flight and precedence. All five mem
bers of The Eagles released albums
—Walsh had already produced sev
eral solo records—which were met
with varying success.
The Flashdance era also marked
the release of both a live album and
a “best of’ compilation for the
band, earmarking the enduring ap
peal of its songs despite its breakup.
In 1994 the band reunited, re
sponding to public demand and re
leased a new album, “Hell Freezes
Over,” which included live fa
vorites alongside four new tracks.
Stylistically, The Eagles’ sound
references a variety of genres,
blending a medley of styles into
their own brand of honest, folk
tinged rock. Their early hits evi
denced a decidedly country-rock
sound, while the addition of Joe
Walsh in 1976 infused their music
with a harder edge. Although they
often tackled darker aspects of
American life in their songs, then
music secured them a steady spot
on mainstream play lists, gaining
listeners with their unique sound
and evocative messages.
The band’s mass appeal and
continuing popularity has been
boldly emphasized by its record
sales over the years.
Their fourth, fifth and sixth re
leases — titled “One of These
Nights,” “Hotel California” and
“The Long Run,” respectively —
all spent time in the No. 1 spot on
the charts.
During their heyday in the ’70s,
The Eagles sold more records than
any other band, and they have
continued to rule the charts in to
tal sales.
The Eagles’ first greatest-hits
compilation, “Their Greatest Hits,
1971-1975,” has sold more copies
than any other release — an as
tounding 26 million copies. It was
also the first record to be certified
platinum by the Recording
industry Association ot America.
Over the course of their career,
they have scored five No. 1 hits
and have produced an additional
five top-10 singles.
Their reunion in 1994 not only
sparked a series of high-priced,
highly lucrative concert tours, but
also resulted in yet another num
ber one release with “Hell Freezes
Over.” Their latest outing, deemed
their Farewell 1 Tour, takes to
stages across America this spring
and summer. They are also slated
to release an album of new mate
rial sometime this year.
Adding to the series of leg
endary acts that have already
played at the Carolina Center, The
Eagles’ May 11 concert will un
doubtedly showcase the radio
friendly songs that have made
them one of the music world’s
most celebrated bands. For Eagles’
fan club members, tickets are cur
rently being pre-sold on www.tick
etmaster.com. *
Tickets will be available to the
general public starting at 10 a.m.
Monday — prices range from $175
for floor-level general-admission
tickets to $45 for upper-level seat
ing.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
Notable
albums by
The Eagles:
Desperado”
1973
"Hotel California"
1976
“Eagles Live"
1980
"Greatest Hits
1971-1975”
1993
'' HK' V
IM H ' mm a
“Hell Freezes Over"
1994
I
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
MOVIE REVIEW
‘Chicago’ women chase after
stardom in musical masterpiece
“CHICAGO”
Starring Renee Zellweger,
Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta
Jones and Queen Latifah
★★★*★ out of
BY COREY GARRIOTT
THE OAMKCOCK
This is the stuff that yearning
for a golden lost era is made of.
Well, not the golden past;
“Chicago” makes you want the
gloriously corrupt, gaudily bril
liant, did-I-mention-corrupt past
when every show was a musical,
every dame was as likeably mur
derous as Roxie Hart (Renee
Zellweger) and every lawyer had
the illegal panache of Billy Flynn
(Richard Gere).
Roxie dreams of the stage but
lacks the means. So she plays her
unclever husband for a fool, hav
ing an affair with a scalawag who
promises her fame. The bum, of
course, doesn’t deliver and she
kills him in passion.
Throughout the rest of the
movie, she sprawls in and out of
trouble in the jailhouse and imag
ines big-band show tunes to nar
rate. They’re witty and urbane —
each a study in poetic justice.
She arrives in prison and
learns that she’ll need to employ
a back-scratch ethic to survive.
Jailhouse matron Mama, por
trayed by a classy Queen Latifah,
switches out of prison gear and
into a golden dress, taking the
stage to vocalize this compulsory
way of life.
“You put in for Mama,” her
voice growls as she paces the
stage, “she’ll put out for you.”
What makes this movie worth
12 Oscars?
The sheer number of new
ideas, the innovative scenes and
the way the music is incorporat
ed into the screenplay. Roxie’s
fantasies transition into musi
cal stage numbers, complete
with an announcer’s voice —
an engaging cinematic move by
director Rob Marshall.
- <
Catherine Zeta
Jones Is nominated
for an Academy
Award for her role
In “Chicago."
PHOTO COURTESY OF KRT
CAMPUS
She hears of showman-come
lawyer Billy Flynn, who she hopes
will be her acquitter in shining ar
mor.
“Ladies and gentlemen,”
Roxie’s dream announcer begins,
“let me present: the silver-tongued
prince of the courtroom!” — and
out marches a dapper Richard
Gere swearing he cares not for silk
and rings. All he cares about is
love.
“Show me long, raven hair,”
Gere serenades, “flowing down,
about to there/ when I see her run
ning free — keep your money!
That’s enough for me!”
In reality, Gere won’t work for
less than $5,000.
Notable also is the tragic com
edy of Roxie’s poor husband,
Amos, who performs a soliloquy
in Billy’s office. He soft-shoes in
proletarian gear across the floor
with hat in hands, suggesting he j
ought to be named Mr.
Cellophane: “Cause you can look
right through me/ walk right by
me/ and never know I’m there.”
But the best-cut scene, and this
is a bit of a giveaway, is sure to go
down in history. Roxie holds a
news conference in prepara
tion for her trial—and, you
guessed it, the announcer
mutters, “Mr. Billy
Flynn, in the press con
ference rag” — Billy sits
on stage with Roxie in his
lap as a ventrilo
quist’s dummy —
“notice how his
mouth never
moves.”
The reporters
hang on puppet
strings as fcilly
manipu
lates
the whole corrupt affair, setting
public opinion to an authoritari
an sing-and-dance skit.
Eventually, the whole media cho
rus sings in unison of the murder:
“It’s understandable, understand
able/ yes, it’s perfectly under
standable/ comprehensible, com
prehensible — not a bit a repre
hensible; it’s so defensible.”
Gere stays slick throughout the
whole movie.
During a courtroom scene, the
prosecution impromptus some in
ventive evidence against Roxie,
forcing Billy to improvise as well
— so he puts on tap shoes as he
weasels his way out.
One of the best scenes in the
movie, however, is a duet between
Zellweger’s fellow jailbird
Catherine Zeta-Jones and
Queen Latifah, who come
out on the bottom,
lamenting the loss of
old values and dig
nity.
“Holy shit,” they
sing, “what a shame.
What became of
class?”
Comments on this
story?E-mail
gamecockmix
editor
(dhotmaiLcom